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Travel ball spin off: Babe Ruth piloting pitch count rules

Posted on 1/15/15 at 9:21 am
Posted by roadGator
Member since Feb 2009
145277 posts
Posted on 1/15/15 at 9:21 am
Babe Ruth rules account for pitching by innings pitched currently. This is stupid because you could have a 3 pitch inning (actually 1 pitch) and that counts as an inning. Conversely, you could have a 100 pitch inning and still have 3 innings remaining.

Because of Dr. James Andrews and others, Babe Ruth is now piloting a pitch count rule for the older divisions. It's about damn time.
Posted by Dr RC
The Money Pit
Member since Aug 2011
59155 posts
Posted on 1/15/15 at 9:22 am to
who the hell is leaving in a pitcher if he needs 100 pitches to finish a single inning?
Posted by Wtodd
Tampa, FL
Member since Oct 2013
67773 posts
Posted on 1/15/15 at 9:23 am to
As an ex-pitcher that had arm issues, a pitch count is the way to go but who's going to keep count? The coach? Pretty sure he'll fudge the numbers to keep his ace in longer.
Posted by TH03
Mogadishu
Member since Dec 2008
171589 posts
Posted on 1/15/15 at 9:25 am to
100 pitch inning?

The Braves are interested in signing that kid
Posted by roadGator
Member since Feb 2009
145277 posts
Posted on 1/15/15 at 9:26 am to
quote:

who the hell is leaving in a pitcher if he needs 100 pitches to finish a single inning?


No one that I know of. I just gave you the extremes.

I did witness an 11 year old pitch 120 pitches in one game though. That's only 70 over my max limit as a coach. No big deal right? That coach really wanted to win that game I suppose.

To monitor it, there will need to be an additional volunteer to record pitches. I know the pitch count at all times.
This post was edited on 1/15/15 at 9:28 am
Posted by FightinTigersDammit
Louisiana North
Member since Mar 2006
37253 posts
Posted on 1/15/15 at 9:27 am to
When I was coaching, I kept the pitch count and let my head coach (good friend of mine) know when we needed to get another pitcher ready. I spent most of my time working with the pitchers, and we decided before the season we weren't going to overwork/hurt anybody to win.
Posted by Meauxjeaux
98836 posts including my alters
Member since Jun 2005
41822 posts
Posted on 1/15/15 at 9:30 am to
Did that 11 year old pitch 90+ pitches two days prior? If so, we know the same 11 year old.

BTW, he doesn't even play travel. There's some rec ball for ya.
This post was edited on 1/15/15 at 9:31 am
Posted by TROLA
BATON ROUGE
Member since Apr 2004
13103 posts
Posted on 1/15/15 at 9:34 am to
It's hard as a youth coach to watch some of these teams blow up a kids pitch count with such little regard.. We have a strict pitch count that is below most that is based on a multitude of factors..rest,weather, etc... Watched a u-10 kid throw 120 pitches last year in a attempt to ride him the whole game because he was their only hope.. We've lost games because we've pulled a hot pitcher at 50, even when the dad is telling us he's good to go..push him to 70-75.. Our philosophy isn't that the extra 20 pitches will do demonstrative damage but we feel it's our job to begin the teaching of limits in a hope that when they are older they will be mindful of their arms.
Posted by WFTiger
The Country
Member since Jan 2014
128 posts
Posted on 1/15/15 at 9:36 am to
I had this argument with the USSSA baseball guys. They go by innings as well which is pointless. They were too busy counting their entry fee money to listen however.
Posted by roadGator
Member since Feb 2009
145277 posts
Posted on 1/15/15 at 9:36 am to
Are you in Jacksonville?
Posted by Ace Midnight
Between sanity and madness
Member since Dec 2006
91238 posts
Posted on 1/15/15 at 9:38 am to
quote:

who the hell is leaving in a pitcher if he needs 100 pitches to finish a single inning?


He was exaggerating, of course, but I've seen some innings get out of hand, without the pitcher being ineffective necessarily - and it isn't all that uncommon:

First batter gets on hitting a 2-2 single (5), second batter takes 2 early strikes, watches 2 balls go way outside, fouls 2 and grounds out (runner holds) - (12). 3rd batter takes a ball and a strike, fouls, takes another ball and strikes out (17). 1 on and 2 out. 4th batter walks on a full count (23). 5th batter strikes out on a 2-2 (28).

The kid on the mound had 1 runner in scoring position, gave up no runs and is over 1/4 of the way to 100 pitches. I'm not saying that happens every inning, but a high pitch count does not necessarily mean an ineffective pitcher - especially if he is good at concealing his pitches and moves the ball around the zone - a lot.

And, if you have a gritty, contact hitting team who challenge those 2 strike pitches over and over - they can foul a bunch off, further inflating the pitch count.
Posted by roadGator
Member since Feb 2009
145277 posts
Posted on 1/15/15 at 9:40 am to
USSSA has no mention of player safety on their website.

Their own rules for pitching are stupid and unsafe. They actually have no pitching limits for the 18U divisions with no rest requirements. It states "UNLIMITED". I hate them and what they stand for. We don't host their tournaments at our park.
Posted by FightinTigersDammit
Louisiana North
Member since Mar 2006
37253 posts
Posted on 1/15/15 at 9:44 am to
Young pitchers throw a LOT of balls, Ace, so add a bunch of walks in there, too.
Posted by WFTiger
The Country
Member since Jan 2014
128 posts
Posted on 1/15/15 at 9:49 am to
That's where the parents have to step in. Besides loving working with kids, the #1 reason I've always coached my sons in every sport they play is to be in control of how they(and their teammates) are treated. The coaches that bend every rule they can for their own benefit should be banned from coaching when caught.
Posted by Boudreaux35
BR
Member since Sep 2007
22147 posts
Posted on 1/15/15 at 9:50 am to
Who will be in charge of counting the pitches? And how are they going to deal with discrepancies between counts by oppposing teams/coaches?
Posted by roadGator
Member since Feb 2009
145277 posts
Posted on 1/15/15 at 9:56 am to
During the pilot?

This is from their letter to parks.

"Each league must designate a scorekeeper or official to track pitch counts as the official pitch count recorder".

Either manager can request the current pitch count.

They also suggest not moving the pitcher to catcher if 41 or more pitches have been thrown. That happens a lot currently.
Posted by Dr RC
The Money Pit
Member since Aug 2011
59155 posts
Posted on 1/15/15 at 9:56 am to
quote:

I did witness an 11 year old pitch 120 pitches in one game though. That's only 70 over my max limit as a coach. No big deal right? That coach really wanted to win that game I suppose.


gat damn, that coach is a major prick.
Posted by tgrbaitn08
Member since Dec 2007
148031 posts
Posted on 1/15/15 at 10:05 am to
quote:

Babe Ruth rules account for pitching by innings pitched currently.


USSSA and Grand Slam use innings pitched as well...


Personally for my son and our travel team we use pitch count.
Posted by Ace Midnight
Between sanity and madness
Member since Dec 2006
91238 posts
Posted on 1/15/15 at 10:08 am to
quote:

Young pitchers throw a LOT of balls, Ace, so add a bunch of walks in there, too.


No question - but I was trying to stay with a reasonable scenario with zero reason to pull the kid (call that a hypothetical first inning) - but he's still thrown ~30 pitches. He can get 3 up and 3 down with battling batters fouling off several in the second inning and be in the 40s - the crazy parents are going to lose their minds if you pull this kid in the 3rd when he hits 50 - regardless of the fact it is the absolute right thing to do.

Posted by nc14
La Jolla
Member since Jan 2012
28193 posts
Posted on 1/15/15 at 10:10 am to
Tired arm is tired arm. Pitch count isn't the answer.
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